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39 - Volcanoes

from SECTION B - ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2011

Kristi L. Koenig
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Carl H. Schultz
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
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Summary

OVERVIEW

Introduction

An understanding of how people are killed and injured in volcanic eruptions is essential for advancing disaster mitigation measures as well as for managing casualties in actual events (Table 39.1). The main aim of disaster medicine is the prevention of direct human deaths and injuries and reducing economic losses that can indirectly affect health through increasing poverty and inequality. A surprisingly large number of lethal phenomena are associated with eruptions, and health hazards can arise even when volcanoes are in a state of apparent repose. Compared with other types of disasters such as floods, wind storms, and earthquakes, volcanic eruptions occur much less frequently. In recent decades there were on average only two–four events worldwide per year that involved fatalities and people living near an active volcano have only a low statistical risk of a serious event happening in their lifetimes.

The reactivation of a volcano in a densely populated area should trigger a state of emergency, like a warning for an approaching hurricane or storm surge. Forecasting an eruption in a state of unrest requires a team of experienced volcanologists equipped with the latest monitoring technology who can make a rapid appraisal based on what is known about the particular volcano and by drawing analogies from similar volcanoes and how they behave. Although most of these potential crises do not lead to a major eruption and states of unrest can remain in place for years, the uncertainty of forecasting eruptive behavior and the possibility that a serious eruption can happen with little to no warning means that evacuation decisions may have to be made very quickly.

Type
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Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
Comprehensive Principles and Practices
, pp. 632 - 642
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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Used with permission from Elsevier.
Used with permission from Elsevier.

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  • Volcanoes
  • Edited by Kristi L. Koenig, University of California, Irvine, Carl H. Schultz, University of California, Irvine
  • Book: Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
  • Online publication: 05 August 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511902482.041
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  • Volcanoes
  • Edited by Kristi L. Koenig, University of California, Irvine, Carl H. Schultz, University of California, Irvine
  • Book: Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
  • Online publication: 05 August 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511902482.041
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Volcanoes
  • Edited by Kristi L. Koenig, University of California, Irvine, Carl H. Schultz, University of California, Irvine
  • Book: Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
  • Online publication: 05 August 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511902482.041
Available formats
×